He learned to play the saxophone in the British Army and toured Europe in a band with author Leonard Bigg also from London.
He found work as a milkman in Calgary and then joined the Canadian Army as a musician and began studying cartooning from books.
Wicks came across a list in a library of magazines willing to purchase cartoons and began trying his hand—his first major success was being published by the Saturday Evening Post.
His cartoons were simply drawn but were very topical and witty and became popular with readers and were picked up by the Toronto Star after the Telegram ceased operations in 1971.
Ben promptly offered to work for nothing on a trial period and I was impressed by his persistence and determination, plus his obvious ability to get along with people.
Ben was godfather to our son Michael John Fisher, and was a frequent house-guest during his early years in Canada.
He was a hard worker and endured all the rejections and disappointments that go with trying to break into the cartoon business with good humour and a ready smile.
I have always been mildly amused by Ben's biographies and chided him that I was never included, and that certain periods of his life were always glossed over with vague references to odd jobs such as milkman and playing in an army band.
He used his illustrations to publicize the plight of civilian sufferers of the Biafran War in Nigeria, and became a supporter of Oxfam.